National Accounts data is more than just GDP. This book, to be published annually, and its related database present national accounts in a way that reflects the richness inherent in the data and the value that represents for analysts and policymakers. It responds to the Stiglitz Commission’s recommendation that policymakers look beyond GDP to get a fuller picture of the entire economy.

In particular it uses national accounts data to show important findings about households and governments, including important new series on gross adjusted household income and non-financial fixed assets of households. It presents each of the series on a two-page spread, with the page on the left providing information on the meaning, usage, and comparability of the data and the page on the right presenting data from 1995 onwards for the OECD countries as well as graphics highlighting differences among countries.

This book includes OECD’s unique StatLink service, which enables readers to download Excel® versions of tables and graphs. Look for the StatLink at the foot of each table and graph.

5. Disposable income Disposable income, as a concept, is closer to the concept of income generally understood in economics, than either national income or GDP. At the total economy level it differs from national income in that additional income items are included, mainly other current transfers such as remittances. For countries where these additional items form significant sources of income the importance of focusing on disposable income in formulating policy is clear. For OECD countries the differences between national and disposable income at the total economy level are typically insignificant. But another very important difference between national income and disposable income concerns the allocation of income across sectors. At this level significant differences arise. In the main these reflect the reallocation of national income: from corporations and households to government, on account of income taxes; from households to government to reflect social contributions; and, from government and corporations to households to reflect social benefits other than social transfers in kind. It is mainly this reallocation of income that brings the concept of income closer to the economic concept. Indeed, ignoring, for simplicity, changes in net worth that arise from capital transfers or holding gains say, disposable income can be seen as the maximum amount that a unit can afford to spend on consumption goods or services without having to reduce its financial or nonfinancial assets or by increasing its liabilities.